Reports have emerged as to why Frank Lampard is desperate to sign Dries Mertens even as Chelsea face an uphill battle trying to persuade the Napoli hitman.

The experienced Belgian striker has been targeted by boss Lampard to ease his goalscoring problems and help push for a top four finish.

According to the Telegraph, Mertens in many ways fits exactly what Lampard is looking for, as he can play through the middle or from wide positions and is comfortable in a front three or in a pair.

He would be able to play instead of Tammy Abraham or alongside Chelsea’s striker from one of the wide positions, which would give Lampard far greater options.

Belgian international Mertens has scored 118 goals for Napoli over seven seasons at the club, having previously been prolific at PSV Eindhoven.

But the 32-year-old maintains he has a personal ambition to achieve first by becoming Napoli’s record goalscorer before he leaves, and sits just four short of Marek Hamsik’s 122 haul.

Chelsea would have to offer him at least an 18-month deal worth £150,000-a-week to stand any chance of striking a deal. An agreement with Napoli and the player is currently rated as being difficult but not entirely impossible.

Lampard first identified Mertens as a possible addition to his squad back in early December and the Blues have been monitoring the player since.

Mertens is also out of contract at Napoli at the end of this season.

Reports in Italy state that Chelsea are making a late move for Dries Mertens as the Premier League are negotiating with Napoli in an attempt to sign the striker.

The Napoli striker is winding down his contract at the San Paolo, with only six months remaining.

According to Sky Sport Italia, Chelsea are determined to bring Mertens to England before the end of the transfer window.

Inter have reportedly been interested in signing the Belgian international in the summer.

However, Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio states that Chelsea would like to sign Mertens now.

With Napoli boss Rino Gattuso reverting back to the club’s usual 4-3-3 system and with Arkadiusz Milik first choice, Football Italia suggest that the Partenopei may allow Mertens to leave this month for a small fee, rather than losing him to Inter in the summer for free.

Meanwhile, Tuttosport states that the Nerazzurri are pondering on the idea of whether to make an approach for the 32-year-old.

Coach Antonio Conte is seeking another striker and with Alexis Sanchez returning to Manchester United in the summer, Inter are looking to Mertens to fill the gap left by Sanchez.

Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud is another option, but Conte would like the Frenchman in now, as opposed to waiting to next summer.

It looks unlikely that Mertens will renew with Napoli, as the clubs continue to wrangle over a contract extension.

Mertens has been at the club since 2013 and is the club’s second greatest goalscorer with 118 goals.

Photo Credit: Twitter en_sscnapoli

Former Manchester City defender Pablo Mari has joined Arsenal on loan until the end of the season from Flamengo.

The Gunners have an option to make the deal permanent in the summer.

Technical director Edu said: “Pablo is an experienced player who will provide us with additional defensive quality. We have been monitoring Pablo’s career for a while and we are very pleased to have reached agreement with Flamengo for him to join us initially until the end of our season. Together with Mikel and his coaching team, we are all looking forward to seeing Pablo in an Arsenal shirt.”

Photo Credit: SkySports

Real Madrid had a pre-agreement with Christian Eriksen but Zinedine Zidane vetoed the move.

The Denmark international has joined Inter on a permanent deal following the completion of his €20m transfer from the North London club, where his contract was due to expire in the summer of 2020.

A report in Diario AS in June claimed that there was a ‘verbal agreement’ between the former Ajax playmaker and Madrid while he was also heavily linked to a move to Manchester United.

Madrid held a strong interest in Eriksen, mainly, according to Football Espana, due to his affordable transfer fee and wage budget, but they are already well-stocked in the midfield position.

Indeed, players such as Brahim Diaz and Isco – who occupy similar areas of the pitch – have struggled for first-team minutes this season while the club have also been linked with moves for midfielders Paul Pogba and Donny van de Beek this summer.

There are reports that Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani has said his goodbyes to his PSG teammates amid speculation that he is closing in on a transfer to La Liga side Atletico Madrid.

The 32-year-old has been linked with a move away all season after playing second fiddle to Kylian Mbappe and Mauro Icardi for the majority of the campaign, and the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea were rumoured to have shown an interest.

But Cavani is said to favour a move to Spain more than England, and the Mirror report that it looks only a matter of time until he puts pen to paper on a deal with Atletico.

According to Foot-Mercato Cavani said farewell to the PSG squad and their manager Thomas Tuchel yesterday, and he could be confirmed as an Atletico player as soon as this evening.

Photo Credit: Twitter @PSG_English

Reports in England claim that Chelsea youngster Tariq Lamptey has a pre-contract offer on the table from Lille, with his future looking likely to be away from Stamford Bridge.

The academy graduate is in the final year of his deal and the Ligue 1 club want to land the right-back ahead of next season.

Lamptey – who has made three first-team appearances off the bench over the last month – is understood to be keen on a switch to Lille.

Sportsmail report that Frank Lampard has high hopes for the 19-year-old and wants to tie him to a longer deal, despite obvious competition in his position by way of Reece James and Cesar Azpilicueta.

Chelsea have parachuted Lamptey in to play parts of matches against Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and Hull City over recent weeks to demonstrate he does have a bright future there.

Patrick Vieira’s Nice have also held interest in Lamptey and were hopeful of landing the England Under 20 international this month.

There are reports that AS Roma have contacted Chelsea for a move for Pedro Rodriguez who will be a free agent in June.

The former Spain international has been at the centre of series of speculation over his possible move away from Stamford Bridge.

According to The Athletic, the 32-year-old has an offer on the table from Inter Miami, as well as clubs in his native Spain and China.

The winger has even been linked with a return to Barcelona. And, according to Goal, Japanese outfit Vissel Kobe are also interested.

Serie A club AS Roma are, as reported by Football Italia, equally interested in Pedro and are in touch with Chelsea for a move to Italy.

He has made only 12 competitive appearances so far this season, contributing one goal and two assists.

Pedro was purchased from Barcelona in the summer of 2015 for €27m.

Roma are going through an injury crisis at the moment and need reinforcements in various attacking areas.

They are already investing in youth with Carles Perez in advanced talks from Barcelona and Gonzalo Villar arriving today for a medical from Elche, but Pedro would bring valuable experience.

Pedro has won 26 titles over the course of his storied career, including five La Liga championships and the UEFA Champions League three times.

Fresh reports in Italy reveal that Inter Milan have resuscitated their interest in Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud.

According to Sky in Italy, the Italians are making progress in their bid to land the France international.

Reporter Dharmesg Sheth has said: “According to our colleagues, Giroud to Inter Milan is back on.

“Inter couldn’t agree a fee and turned their attention to Fernando Llorente but that loan fell through – Napoli wanted to keep Llorente as back-up – and the latest information we have from Italy is that the clubs (Chelsea and Inter) are close to an agreement that would see Giroud get a two-and-a-half-year deal.”

Reports in Italy claim that Serie A club AC Milan have rejected Tottenham’s plan to acquire the services of Krzysztof Piatek via a loan arrangement.

The Premier League club are desperate to sign Piatek to replace Harry Kane, but Milan are refusing to release him on loan, demanding €30m.

The Poland international was only signed from Genoa a year ago for €35m and has dropped down the pecking order in the last couple of weeks.

This is because Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived as a free agent and coach Stefano Pioli moved to a 4-4-2 system, so Rafael Leao or Ante Rebic are preferred strike partners.

According to Sky Sport Italia transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio, Tottenham believe Piatek is the right man to stand in for Kane during his injury, but they are not prepared to pay €30m.

Spurs are asking for the centre-forward on loan for six months with option to buy, something Milan are not happy with.

However, Radio Rossonera suggest if it got to the final days of the transfer window and Piatek was still at San Siro, they could open up to a different solution, report Football Italia.

It would still have to guarantee financial remuneration, so potentially even an 18-month loan with obligation to buy.